What does it mean by knowing this is sunnah act in prayer?
It means that we can skip doing it if we want and our solah will still be valid. It also mean that if we see others not doing it, their solah is valed.

HOWEVER, it is best that we strive to perform sunnah act as much as we can, Insya Allah.

Today we will be discussing about the opening supplication yaani what is read in between takbiratul ihram and surah al fatihah.

H and S have memorised the dua Al istiftah as what is normally thought to all children in Malaysia (myself too). Apparently the one we have been reciting are two separate dua Al istiftah combined together but not fully complete. *confused*

Ibn ‘Umar reported: While we said prayer with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), one among the people said: Allah is truly Great, praise be to Allah in abundance. Glory be to Allah in the morning and the evening. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon, him) said: Who uttered such and such a word? A person among the people said: It is I, Messenger of Allah (who have recited these words). He (the Holy Prophet) said: It (its utterance) surprised me, for the doors of heaven were opened for It. Ibn ‘Umar said: I have not abandoned them (these words) since I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saying this.

And then we recite another dua alistiftah as in the following hadith but stpped at wa ana minal muslimin.

The Book of Prayers (Kitab Al-Salat)
Muslim :: Book 4 : Hadith 1695

‘Ali b. Abu Talib reported that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) got up at night for prayer he would say: I turn my face in complete devotion to One Who is the Originator of the heaven and the earth and I am not of the polytheists. Verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; There is no partner with Him and this is what I have been commanded (to profess and believe) and I am of the believers. O Allah, Thou art the King, there is no god but Thee, Thou art my Lord, and I am Thy bondman. I wronged myself and make a confession of my Sin. Forgive all my sins, for no one forgives the sins but Thee, and guide me in the best of conduct for none but Thee guideth anyone (in) good conduct. Remove sins from me, for none else but Thou can remove sins from me. Here I am at Thy service, and Grace is to Thee and the whole of good is in Thine hand, and one cannot get nearneststo Thee through evil. My (power as well as existence) is due to Thee (Thine grace) and I turn to Thee (for supplication). Thou art blessed and Thou art exalted. I seek forgiveness from Thee and turn to Thee in repentance: and when he would bow, he would say: O Allah, it is for Thee that I bowed. I affirm my faith in Thee and I submit to Thee, and submit humbly before Thee my hearing, my eyesight, my marrow, my bone, my sinew; and when he would raise his head, he would say: O Allah, our Lord, praise is due to Thee, (the praise) with which is filled the heavens and the earth, and with which is filled that (space) which exists between them, and filled with anything that Thou desireth afterward. And when he prostrated himself, he (the Holy Prophet) would say: O Allah, it is to Thee that I prostrate myself and it is in Thee that I affirm my faith, and I submit to Thee. My face is submitted before One Who created it, and shaped it, and opened his faculties of hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the best of Creators; and he would then say between Tashahhud and the pronouncing of salutation: Forgive me of the earlier and later open and secret (sins) and that where I made transgression and that Thou knowest better than I. Thou art the First and the Last. There is no god, but Thee.

Allah’s Apostle used to keep silent between the Takbir and the recitation of Qur’an and that interval of silence used to be a short one. I said to the Prophet “May my parents be sacrificed for you! What do you say in the pause between Takbir and recitation?” The Prophet said, “I say, ‘Allahumma, ba’id baini wa baina khatayaya kama ba’adta baina-l-mashriqi wa-l-maghrib. Allahumma, naqqim min khatayaya kama yunaqqa-ththawbu-l-abyadu mina-ddanas. Allahumma, ighsil khatayaya bil-ma’i wa-th-thalji wal-barad (O Allah! Set me apart from my sins (faults) as the East and West are set apart from each other and clean me from sins as a white garment is cleaned of dirt (after thorough washing). O Allah! Wash off my sins with water, snow and hail.)”

8 responses to “Du’a Al Istiftah (The Opening Supplication)”

I just wanted to let you know i think you may have printing errors on this page “Du’a Al Istiftah (The Opening Supplication)” The very last dua and the last 3 words are mixed up i think. I’m not a scholar and i don’t even know how to read and write arabic properly so please forgive me if the mistake is mine. Also the english translation of the arabic pronounciation of this dua definately has errors during the same sentence.

I have crossed checked with the book I am currently using – Prayer according to sunnah, darussalam – the dua’ seems correct except for a few grammar differences like min or missing al. I think that is what you are pointing at. 🙂 The arabic printing i took it from a site. Sorry cannot remember what. But the hadith i took it from quran explorer.

Insya Allah it does not change the meaning of the dua’

Allah knows best.

Jazakallah for your concern.

But them I may have overlooked certain things also. You know when your eyes get used to something, it seems hard to see the wrongs.